1. Field of the Invention
This invention has to do with roller bearings and seals for use in conveyor rollers of the type used to support a conveyor belt for the transport of loose friable materials.
2. Description of Related Art
Conveyor rollers or idler rollers as they are sometimes called, work in harsh environments such as open pit mines, quarries, sand and gravel classification operations and the like. Normally they support long runs of conveyor that is used to transport materials from a point of origin to a processing station. The bearings of such idler rollers are expected to tolerate rather severe service for long periods of time--sometimes up to several years.
In order to accomplish this goal the bearings of the idler rollers are shielded from the intrusion of contaminants by seals in the outboard end of the idler rollers.
Numerous seal designs have been used over the many years of use of idler rollers. A whole panoply of designs have been developed, each which claims to have advantages over others. But advances in seal design due to materials availability, wear characteristics and more sophisticated seal molding and fabricating techniques continue to improVe the art in this field.
To the best of the inventor's current knowledge the device that most closely relates to the instant invention is shown as FIG. 1 of the drawing Figures. The device is manufactured by FMC Corporation and is known as the "70,000 Series". It's details will be discussed further on.